Jan 23 2008
Have mercy on yourself
The message that most Christians cling to is the aggressive ethic of reciprocity and the Judge-not. Beside the ridiculous logical ad infinitum of giving till someone has to break down and take, and the lack of justice Judge-not promotes, the two core tenets of Christianity leads to a life of bird nests without a hen guarding the eggs. I presume that most Christians regard the doing to others and lack of justice to be metaphorical: The domain of god. No one but the masochist would present the other check and desire anarchy.
Where is the line then that justifies retaliation on an oppressor? At first I thought this was a case for fuzzy logic, but logic defies fuzz. What at first seemed to me to be a complex issue really isn’t. Treat others as they treat you: point blank. This works well for those that are in the now but it eeks upon personal identity. That is the reason I have always promoted individuality. We can not be held accountable for the wrongs of our ancestors any more that we can take the credit for the work of dead individual artists.
Only the future inhabitants of earth are tied to our wrongs. It’s extortion and depressingly those geezers that are alive today wouldn’t change what they did 60 years ago.
However, those that cling onto their identity the actions of ancestors can logically be accountable for the wrongs of their predecessors. Call yourself an “American” and be held accountable for the terroristic acts of this Nations founders. By treating others as they treat your self only an act of aggression is legitimately countered with aggression. Hit me brother and I’ll hit you back. The Mercy high ground is interesting territory. Typically mercy can be given when enough attention is paid to empathy; unfortunately for most only the closer someone is to oneself the easier it is to empathize. That’s even more reason to embrace the principle of equality, individuality and justice.
I’m one and you’re one to. We’re one and one. But we can equal two as one if we both try.
If I was unjustly aggressive against someone, I’d fully expect them to hit me back. So if someone’s unjustly aggressive against me, can’t I hit them back?
Fuck em’ up bro!
Can’t “unjust” be subjective?
Justice is complex, not subjective. That’s why lawyers get the big bucks. Justice hinges on property; public and private but most importantly self ownership. What’s terrible is State or Church claiming ownership of the self and the willed submission of oneself. If some one violates my self or my property I hope justice served. What is subjective is what retribution is executed for a crime. If some one cuts off my hands cutting off theirs is unjust because of the value of my digits.
“Do not Judge lest you be judged too”
I think that Matthew was not talking about judgment as much as do not be a hypocrite. I would imagine that this would then lend to the phrase “people in glass houses should not throw stones.
The Christian thought on this is that it is better to forgive than to judge as we are all imperfect. In many ways the phrase invokes personal identity as it speaks to the individual and not the masses. You may be a thief, I maybe another type of sinner but that still does not give you the right to judge me. Judging me when you are not perfect is hypercritical.
You kind of lost me with: “I’m one and you’re one to. We’re one and one. But we can equal two as one if we both try but perhaps that was a sentiment of a more personal nature that was an after thought to your post. If not, perhaps you can explain what the relevance is.
The New Testament does not applaud an eye for an eye attitude. So if you were to feel that some one “unjustly treated you” better to forgive than to react in kind, which then would make you a hypocrite by doing the same thing that you were originally pissed off about.
Personally I ascribe to forgiving but never, never, never, not ever forgetting. But that is just me and I do not claim to be a Christian.
I judge myself and expect others to do so accordingly. Most the wrongs we do we do to ourself. If for no other reason than that is who we’re around the most.
The one and one but could be two is relative to loving thy neighbor as thyself. Who am I kidding…. I was talking about Amanda O_o Just a little metapoetry slippin’ in the post.
I got that last bit… just wanted an admission.
I do not judge by what I expect of others. I judge others on how they respect me.
If my judgment fails then it is my failure in judgment not in their lack of failing.
I judge myself more harshly than others which are why I see a psycho dude.
However it is always the principal that prevails - Forgiveness in the real sense or forgetting in the psychotic one.
Better to forgive than to do what I Do. In complete honesty = to my self.
It’s like a bird, that you can’t see…
But you can hear the pretty music in the tree.
We all live in glass houses.
If we all keep throwing rocks, Robert, we will all end up homeless.
Raspootin is on the right path.
If you want everyone who has wronged you to pay, then everyone else will do the same thing. Imagine you being treated as your wanting to do to others. Would your house survive???
The vipers are drowning the birdies out
Wrong, the vipers are killing each other.
“Hiss”, my friend. “Hiss.”